Don't Drink the Water in Mexico

We made it out for our walk pretty early this morning, but still not early enough.  It was unbearably hot and we cut the walk short to avoid passing out.  The grapes are starting to develop on the vines, and right now they're about the size of raisins.  We passed by a small vineyard on our walk, and I know it's hard to see, but here they are:

There's a ditch on the side of the road in Santissima that always has at least 5 of the most beautiful, vibrant dragonflies, and today I was able to get a picture.  Everything is blue, from the tail to the wings to the head.

The Book Pooper

Today was super hot again, so we didn't really do anything exciting.  I went for a run, lifted some weights,  did some yoga, and probably sweat my entire body weight in the process.  We could only stand to be outside for less than an hour, so Jameson just played inside for the majority of the day.  I still have more pictures of Venice to share, so today it's more statue fun!

Meet Niccolò Tommaseo, or, as known to the Venetians, "The Book Pooper."  The books really do look like they just fell out of his butt, so the title is suiting.  Tommaseo was an Italian author and linguist, and produced a number of works in his lifetime, including beginning the weighty 7 volume Italian dictionary, which was finished after his death.  The statue is located in the campo Santo Stefano, where one of our favorite restaurants (A Beccafico) is, and also where Christine claims to have had a Brad Pitt sighting.  Her and Christer were spending the night in Venice when her mom was in town, and they were dining at A Beccafico when Christine swears she saw Brad Pitt walk by with a nanny and 2 strollers, supposedly carrying the small twins, Knox and Vivienne.  The whole Jolie-Pitt brood was staying in Venice at the time because Angelina was filming a movie, so the likelihood that the scruffy, fedora-clad, stroller pusher was indeed the-one-and-only Brad Pitt was actually quite high.

Beware the Fondle Police

Today was super hot so we just hung out around the house and took it easy.  Christer was able to come home again for lunch today, and it's so unbelievably adorable to see how Jameson lights up when he's around.  They were just sitting across the table eating lunch and making faces at each other and Jameson was laughing up a storm.  Christine and I have to work 10 times as hard to get him to laugh...normally we're sweating our butts off playing chase and tickle, and all Christer has to do is cross his eyes!  Either way, Jameson is still a momma's boy through and through.  Here he is last week in Venice, clinging to Chrstine while she talks to Sergio, on our favorite campo after enjoying a prosecco together.

Gnome on the Range

Blake and Carrie are out of town, so Christer is using their car for work, and we get to keep our car to take Levi and Jameson on walks.  Today the weather was really beautiful, so we decided to go up into the mountains to the national forest for a big of a scenery change.  The drive up is about a 20 minute drive straight up the side of the mountain (the same mountain the Caneva castle is on), and about 20 minutes of driving across to the backside of the mountain.  Full of hair-pin turns and constant weaving, this drive is not for the weak stomach or car-sick prone passenger.


We passed the Caneva castle on the way up, but, as you can tell, we were at too much of an angle for a good shot of the building itself.

Old Mac Donald

Today the entire family piled into our VW station wagon and headed to a park in San Floriano.  Yes.  Jameson in his car seat, Levi, who probably weighs anywhere from 70-90 pounds, and Christine all smooshed together in the backseat.  San Floriano is a really beautiful park in a very pretty town, but there is a very steep hill that Christine said is just nearly impossible with Jameson in the stroller.  This monster of a hill is the reason we always go to Santissima, and today I found out firsthand.  Christer was carrying Jameson in the backpack, and this trail was a workout!  I would call it more of a hike than a walk.  The views were absolutely stunning though, and very worth the calf and quad workout.

Poncho-Villa

Christer got back in town yesterday, so today we were celebrating father's day.  He had to go to the states to give his passport to the Italian consulate in Chicago, and couldn't return to Italy until his passport was returned to him.  Yes, it's as crazy and nonsensical as it sounds.  Long story short, he's been in the states for the past 2 weeks, and today was his first full day back.  We decided to celebrate by going in to Sacile and doing some shopping and going to Le Contrade for lunch.  Roberto's wife, Lorena, and 2 1/2 year old daughter, Allegra, were eating lunch, so we got to meet them and Jameson got to meet his new future playmate.  She is sooo cute and very very shy, but once they got acquainted Jameson was ready to play!  For the past 2 weeks Jameson has been very listless and acting unusual for his normal, active, steam-roller self.  He's been going down for his nap and for bed super early, and just been all-around cranky.  Today, of course, he was a completely different child.  Christer doesn't believe us because it was like Jameson went to bed and woke up a dream child.  He sat through the ENTIRE meal at Le Crontrade, which is a first, ever, for any meal out, and then was such a sweetie when we were shopping afterwards.  He was being so cute I had to take some pictures.

Bird in Space

When we were in Venice, Christine and I were able to sneak away for a bit one day and check out the Peggy Guggenheim museum. Christine had always wanted to go, but just never actually had a chance to in all of her trips to Venice. She's normally touring first-timers through the city, so there's little time for museum hopping. The list of artists Christine was naming before we decided who (out of the 4 of us) would go along was impressive, and I'm SOOO glad I was able to go because it turned out to be of of my favorite days in Venice.

Peggy Guggenheim purchased a house (Palazzo dei Leoni) on the Grand Canal in Venice in 1948, and spent the later part of her life in Venice, exhibiting her astounding collection of modern art and garden sculptures. Peggy was born into a wealthy family, her father's family having created a fortune mining metals. She grew up in New York, and her father died heroically in the sinking of the Titanic when she was just 14. She dedicated her life to protect the art of her time, and opened her first gallery at the age of 39 in 1937 in London. Peggy was good friends with many artists, including Marcel Duchamp and Constantin Brancusi, and was extremely well connected in the modern art world, even though it was a new and often un-well received form of art at the time. She got a bit tired with her gallery, and began conceiving an idea for the first modern art museum in London in 1939. The list of artists for this museum became the basis for her collection, and, oblivious to the war, she set out relentlessly in search of pieces for her future museum. She purchased a piece from Fernand Léger on the day Hitler invaded Norway, and the acquired Brancusi's "Bird in Space" as the Germans approached Paris, where she was living at the time. In 1947 she exhibited her collection for the first time in Europe at the Venice Biennalle, which was also the first time Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko had ever been exhibited in Europe. Soon after, Peggy purchased the Palazzo dei Leoni in Venice, which she would call home for her 30 year Venetian life. She opened her home to the public during the summer months, and in 1962 she was named an honorary citizen of Venice. When she died in 1979, she left her entire home and collection to her uncle's foundation, the famed Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, and since then her house and collection have been permanently opened to the public.